The present invention relates generally to hydrogen production systems. In particular, the invention relates to a hydrogen production system powered by a renewable energy source.
There is a continuing demand for clean renewable energy sources due to the depletion of the Earth's supply of fossil fuels and concerns over their contribution to global warming. Hydrogen promises to be a clean fuel that can be produced by renewable energy as a fossil fuel replacement. Hydrogen can readily be used in many industrial applications, such as internal combustion engines with little engine modification, in fuel cells to generate electricity, or in power plants to generate electricity.
Hydrogen is currently primarily produced from methane through steam methane reforming. However, steam methane reforming results in a net loss of total energy and the release of pollution. Another hydrogen production method uses coal in a gasification process. While depletion of coal is not an immediate concern, the gasification of coal has other disadvantages, including: high plant capital costs, plant availability, coal mining, coal transportation, and various forms of pollution. There are also processes using renewable sources to provide energy for hydrogen production. For example, it is also widely known that solar energy can be used to generate electricity that can be used to create hydrogen from water through electrolysis. Solar energy can also be used to generate hydrogen when coupled to a high temperature thermochemical process such as sulfur-iodine.
Another method of producing hydrogen is through a low temperature thermochemical process. One such process is the “copper chloride” thermochemical process. The first reaction in this process is given below:2Cu(s)+2HCl(l)=2CuCl(l)+H2(g)
Due to the concern of depleting natural resources and the effect of pollution on global warming, there is a need in the art for a method of producing hydrogen using renewable resources.